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The Georgiana Panthers continued their march in the 2024 1A state playoffs by beating back-to-back state champions, the Leroy Bears, 16-14 this past Friday night.

Georgiana was given little chance of beating the 10-and-1 and No. 2 ranked Bears, but a strong defense and a steady offense gave the Panthers what they needed to pull off the upset. Quarterback Jacobie Morgan got the blue-clad Panthers on the board first on a quarterback keeper around the right end from 8 yards out. The two-point conversion was true to put the home team up 8 to 0 as the second quarter began. Morgan got his second score of the game on the 27-yard run to put the Cats up 16-0 after the two point PAT was good.

To start the third quarter, the Bears got into the lead halfway through the third quarter, 16-8. But with 3:24 to go in the game, things got very interesting when the Bears blasted them from the 9-yard line and were down only two points, 16 to 14. 

But the Panther defense stood strong to thwart the Bears’ two-point attempt as they clung to a 16 to 14 score. And that would be the final score as the Panthers moved into round three.

With the loss to the Panthers, the Bears and their 2024 football championship bid ended at 10 and 2, and any chance of a three-peat of a 1A state title vanished. 

Meanwhile Georgiana will journey to Coffee County for a 1A region rematch. Elba won the last time they met, 49-22 and holds an all-time record over the Panthers, 9 to 6. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. in Elba.